Need to soften up a Sealy Optimum Aster

[phoenix]

Hi NaiveSkeptic,

We keep talking about the deep and top support layers being an unknown. I could always flip the mattress upside down, and rest the topper on the bottom of the mattress.

This would provide you with a firm sleeping surface with no “soft” materials on top which would make it a little safer and probably necessary to use a thicker topper. The risk of this is that you would have thicker softer layers that were meant to be used on top of the mattress on the bottom as a deep support layer which could present risks for alignment and the fabric on the bottom of the mattress (now on the top) may not be as suitable for sleeping on.

I’ll wait for you next comments, and then find a solution. I’ll definitely let you know what I end up doing, and how it works out

Mattress surgery is always an option but it would be a last resort for me if the foam in your mattress was still in good condition and was suitable for a topper (an even surface with no soft spots and just too firm).

As far as the type of material and thickness my previous comments would be the guidelines I would use for choosing the thickness and softness of the topper and as I mentioned I would probably lean towards 2" as the most likely possibility. Even if you need something else or something more … then your experience on this would be a valuable guideline for any potential next step. One step and one variable at a time is usually the “safest” and most accurate approach.

The OptiCool Gel foam is only 1" thick in the Aster. The cover likely has 1/2" of convoluted foam stitched to it, and that 1/2" is soft. The OptiCool layer compresses fairly well, but it’s still firm for memory foam.

I’m not sure of the complete construction of your mattress but it sounds to me like the Aster is similar to the Destiny here which has 2" of Opticool in the top and 1" of Optisense underneath it and is the firmest of the Optimum line in the US. I couldn’t imagine that there was only 1" of memory foam above the support core. If this is the case … then you have 3" of “soft” foam in your mattress and the firmness you are feeling would be partly from the memory foam but more from feeling the support layer below it “through” the memory foam. This would be one of those cases where softer or thinner foam layers (the 3" of memory foam) can make a mattress feel firmer than if the top layers were firmer because you will “go through” soft foam more easily and feel more of the layers underneath it. If you add too much more soft foam in a topper to the 3" of soft material that is already there then the soft memory foam will act as more or a transition or even support layer (instead of as a comfort layer) and there would be a greater risk of alignment issues. I would lean towards 2" (for a total of 5" of softer foam) to avoid your comfort layers being too thick and soft for best alignment/support. You may not feel this when you go to sleep but over the course of the night you can sink in further to the softer memory foam (which gets softer based on temperature, humidity, and how long it is compressed) and alignment issues can become much more apparent when you wake up in the morning.

After your last comments, I’m thinking that GLI Phase Change Gel is a band aid solution (the mattress gets hot after falling asleep), and that 2" of the right density Talalay foam plus a wool topper like a SnugFleece or SoftFleece is the way to go.

I think that the gel may be more important for those who have some trouble going to sleep or for those who need “an edge” that have a tendency to sleep hotter than others but I think that the ventilation of wool is a more “long lasting” solution for temperature regulation issues over the course of the night. I would probably approach each layer one at a time though because the wool will also affect how the mattress feels (like every layer or material) and I would first sleep on one combination before adding another so that you are only dealing with one variable at a time. You can see some thoughts about the snugfleece and other types and sources for wool toppers in post #3 here.

Phoenix